This holiday season you can give a gift that keeps on giving for years to come with energy cost savings. All it takes is selecting appliances, electronics or lighting that carry the Energy Star label, a symbol that guarantees your gift meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
An Energy Star gift will have the latest features while also reducing energy use and saving money. A few examples of these gifts include:
Televisions
Energy Star-certified televisions offer all of the cutting-edge features and are more than 25 percent more energy efficient than standard models. A home with TVs, set-top boxes, a Blue Ray player and a sound system that all carry the Energy Star label can save more than $165 over the life of the products.
Tablets
Energy Star-rated tablets use 10 times less power to stream content than a game console, seven times less power than streaming directly to your television and six times less than streaming to a desktop computer or monitor.
Clothes dryers
Dryers use the most energy of all household appliances. An Energy Star clothes dryer uses 20 percent less energy than a standard model.
Refrigerators
Properly recycling and replacing your old refrigerator with a new Energy Star model could save you $50 a year on energy costs.
Ceiling fans with lights
Fans with lights that have earned the Energy Star label are 60 percent more efficient than conventional fan/light units, saving $185 in energy costs over the fan’s 10-year lifetime.
Learn more about the savings from digital media players, laptops, clothes washers, dishwashers, air cleaners, light bulbs, light fixtures and more from the Energy Star Holiday Gift Guide, at www.energystar.gov/products/holiday. Go to the Energy Star website to learn of the many products it certifies. More energy-efficient gift ideas are available at the Energy Saver webpage of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Minnesota Energy Tips is provided twice a month by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources. Contact the division’s Energy Information Center at energy.info@state.mn.us or 800-657-3710 with energy questions.
